TORONTO — During the most exciting play of the Toronto Raptors’ improbably successful season, only two players touched the ball.

Forward Patrick Patterson stole Deron Williams’ inbound pass intended for Joe Johnson. With the Raptors trailing the Brooklyn Nets by a point, Patterson passed to Lowry, who drove the ball straight to the rim, and looked at Terrence Ross underneath the basket before ultimately deciding to pass the ball to Patterson about 16 feet away from the basket.

Patterson used a pump fake to get Williams to fly by him, took a dribble, and then sank a 14-footer to dramatically win the game.

So it seemed like a pretty simple two-man play. And yet, so many Raptors, players and staff members, were involved.

* Patterson started the game wearing a mask, thanks to the displaced nose he suffered Saturday after the Clippers’ Blake Griffin hit him in the face with his forearm. Early on against the Nets, Patterson was struggling, missing his first few shots. So teammate Chuck Hayes convinced him to take it off.

“(Hayes) gave me the idea of, ‘Hey, since you’re getting it (re-set) tomorrow, what’s the point of wearing a mask today?’

“I was like, ‘You know what? As bad as that sounds, you’re right.'” Patterson went on to score 15 points on 6-for-11 shooting.

* Medical staffs can sometimes ultraconservativeve. They could have insisted Patterson continue to wear a mask he was not yet comfortable in. In this instance, the Raptors’ staff relented.

“They asked, ‘Are you sure that’s a good idea? You want to take it off?'” Patterson recalled. “I said, ‘It’s not comfortable. I’ve got to take it off.’ They said, ‘OK. If you want to do it, it’s your nose.’ ”

He will have to wear the mask on Wednesday against Orlando.

* There are multiple reasons Patterson was able to steal Williams’ pass in the first place. Nets coach Jason Kidd used his final timeout to move the ball tmidcourtt, which meant Williams had to inbound the ball or risk an automatic five-second violation. As Patterson added, Williams’ pass to Johnson was ofoff he mark. The Nets also lack the quickness and athleticism that allows for easier inbound plays.

However, the Raptors were also prepared for the play, which featured Johnson suddenly breaking into thebackcourt to retrieve the pass.

“(The coaching staff) had some plays drawn up that they thought they were going to run,” Patterson said. “It turns out it was that exact play.”

“We get criticized when we’re not prepared,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey added. “We might as well pat our coaches in the back for when we are prepared.”

* Most importantly, the players involved made the proper decisions. Lowry said he chose to pass to Patterson instead of Ross under the basket, or John Salmons across the floor, because it was safest play available. Lowry added that Patterson was smart enough to pump fake in a late-game situation, when players are inclined to overreact.

“I know I would have jumped,” Lowry said.

Casey said Patterson might have chosen to pump fake to “get his bearings” after he air-balled his previous shot, a three-pointer.

It was an example of two new teammates showing some chemistry. To be fair, the two players spent some time together a few seasons ago in Houston. Right after the trade, however, Patterson said he was more comfortable playing with his fellow Sacramento exports. Slowly, that is changing.

“Playing with Johnny (Salmons), playing with DeMar (DeRozan), playing with Terrence (Ross), playing with Greivis (Vasquez), it’s all the same,” Patterson said. “I know their tendencies … That feel is already there.”

Or as Lowry said: “We’re a team, 15-strong.” Sometimes even more than that.